The Mentor Vol. 2 No. 5 May, 1892

Published monthly (for
ten months of the w,\|||
year) by the Alumni ill
Association of the i;

Perkins Institution \|§

for the Blind, Bos-
ton, Mass.

Terms One Dollar per
year, payable in ad-
vance. Single copies
twelve cents.

All communications
should be addressed
to J. W. Smith, Sec-
retary. PUBLIS H I N &

Committee.

Office, -
No. 37 Avon Street.

Entered at the Post-office at Boston, Mass., as second-class matter.

CONTENTS.

I. Sloyd. J. H. Try bom . '. . . 161

II. The Blind School at Angers, France. Alice Eleanor

Stembrid°;e . . . 166

III. The Braille and New York Point Systems of Musical

Notation. A. W. Williams . . . . . . 169

IV. The Present Opportunity. E. E. K. . . . . 172

V. Musical Organizations among the Blind of Philadelphia.

A.K. ... 176

AT. The Training of Sense-perception. J. Vars . . . 178
VII. Should the Blind marry? Clara B.Aldrich . . . 182
VIII. Through the Mountains. An Iowa Reader .... 188
IX. Advice to Music Teachers in Schools for the Blind. Un

Aveugle •..■■- .'-•■'. . 191

X. The Late Miss Hobson. From the ATorthern Whig, Belfast . 192

XI. At Home and Abroad . . ' 194

France New York
Illinois Nova Scotia
Indiana Scotland
Italy South Carolina
XII. Editorial Notes . . . 198

S. G. CHICKERING & CO.

Manufacturers of First-class

Upright Pianos.

WAREROOMS

158 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass.

The S. G. CHICKERING UPRIGHT PIANO is unsurpassed in thoroughness of con-
struction and excellence of finish; and the tone is clear, solid, and resonant. Awarded
Prize Medal at Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics' Fair, 1890, and also at Vermont State
Agricultural Fair.

THE MENTOR

Vol. II. MAY, 1892. No.

SLOYD.

Sloyd is a derivation from an old Swedish word "slog,"
meaning general dexterity or, especially, hand skill. It
was used to denote any kind of industry practised at home,
as the making of all kinds of wooden articles, smith-work,
brush-making, etc. As nearly all these articles nowadays
are made in the factories, this home industry has almost
disappeared, except in a few of the more remote parts of
the country. At present, when we hear the word "sloyd"
used in Sweden, we can be almost sure that educational
manual work of some kind is meant. As wood is almost
the only material used, except in the larger cities, sloyd
becomes equivalent to wood-work for the schools.

This system of manual training in wood has been devel-
oped at the school at Naas, and from there has spread to
almost every country in Europe, as well as to this country,
Japan, India, and several of the South American States.
All these countries have sent teachers to the Naas school
for training, with the aim of adopting the system or,
rather, some modification of the same.

In this city we have what has been called the "Amer-
ican modification of Sloyd," as worked out by Gustaf
Larsson. As the exercises should be represented by useful
articles, such a modification is necessary, the same models
not being useful in all countries. The systematical ar-
rangement of these exercises is essential to the system, not
the models themselves.

1 62 THE MENTOR

I will here quote a few essential rules, on which a series
of sloyd models should be based : —

"First. The exercises should follow in progressive order
from the easy to the difficult, from the simple to the com-
plex, without an injurious break, and with such carefully
graded demands on the powers of both mind and body that
the development of the two shall be equal and simultaneous.
This duality of progress is an essential feature of sloyd.
It cannot be shown in any course of manual work : nothing
but careful observation of the child's gain of power will
show the result aimed at.

"Second. The exercises should admit of the greatest
possible variety, in order to guard against any tendency
toward too great mental tension or physical strain.

" Third. From the very outset the exercises should
result, if possible, in the making of an article of some use.
This arouses and sustains a child's interest in his work,
and helps him to understand the reason for each step; for
he can see to what these steps are leading. It makes him
careful in his work, for he soon learns that poor work will
spoil a model which is worth something. The child's self-
respect and pride are also touched. He is not only learn-
ing to do, but he is actually doing. Much of the moral
value of sloyd centres in this "useful" model. Some per-
sons, ignorant of its true purpose, have thought that it owed
its place in this system to its industrial value only; but
the truth is that the useful model is valued, above all, for
the lesson it teaches and the interest it gives to the work.

"Fourth. Sloyd aims higher even than intellectual de-
velopment, since it seeks to cultivate the aesthetic sense by
combining in the models beauty of form and proportion,
with utility. In addition to straight and rectangular
figures, graceful curves and some simple carving are intro-
duced. Throughout the system, as in that of kindergarten,
the love of beauty is regarded as an important factor in
education.

"Fifth. Every model should be so constructed that it
can be drawn by the pupil, not copied nor traced. Draw-

SLOYD 163

ing is an essential feature of this system, and should always
be preliminary to the making of the model.

" Sixth. The work should be of such a character as to
admit of the best hygienic conditions and to counteract, as
far as possible, the sitting posture."

Sloyd, rightly taught, is said to give a symmetrical
training; that is, a development of the physical and the
mental as well as the moral faculties, if a distinction can
be made between these powers.

The physical training gained by sloyd does not only
consist in a special development of the hand, but also in a
general training of the whole body. If great care is taken
to maintain correct working positions while performing the
exercises with the different tools, sloyd becomes a supple-
ment to gymnastics. The great variety of exercises brings
different muscles into play, at the same time insuring such
a variety of movements that no overstrain can follow.
Thus sloyd, also, proves an excellent antidote for the-
almost constant sitting posture maintained during the
regular school hours.

The special development of the hand is of the most ap-
parent value. It makes a great difference to each one of us
whether we are handy or not. To whatever class of society
we may belong, to whatever height our intellectual attain-
ments may rise, we shall always be greatly dependent upon
others if we are not handy ourselves. It is only when we
are young that we can easily acquire general manual dex-
terity. The exercises in sloyd are especially arranged to
give this training. And, as we all know, it is not for the
purpose of acquainting the pupil with the handling of the
carpenter's tools that he is put to work in the sloyd room,
but to give him this general handiness.

The success of any subject in the school depends on the
pupil's attention. A well-known psychologist tells us,
"Attention is the condition of all intellectual achievement,
and a good power of prolonged concentration is undoubtedly
indispensable to first-rate achievement in any direction."
As long as a pupil gives undivided attention to his work,

164

THE MENTOR

his mind gains strength. When attention is divided, the
development stops. This statement is equally true for a
pupil who pores over books and the one who handles tools.
Concentrated attention is thus a fundamental quality which
we have to cultivate in our pupils. A psychologist says:
"The great field for the early exercise of concentrated at-
tention is action. When a child wants to do something,
the strong desire for the end secures a prolonged effort of
attention." This throws a light upon the kind of work
which is best fitted for the training of this very important
faculty, — the attentive faculty. It must be such work as
will interest the pupil. It must require such a variety of
physical and mental exertions as will keep his interest
alive during the different stages of the work. What can
be better fitted for that purpose than some system of manual
training? The very handling of the tools is a delight to
any child; and when, during the progress of his work, he
sees it develop into a useful and at the same time to him
very valuable model, his interest is constantly sustained
until the article is finished. It has then given him not
only the valuable development of prolonged, concentrated
attention, but the model made by him independently gives
him the joy and satisfaction of usefulness,— an important
step toward the development of an energetic and self-
respecting manhood.

It is claimed that sloyd develops the will, and thus also
character, of which the will is the chief factor. A good,
strong will is, undoubtedly, the foundation for success in
life. Thus it seems to me that, when the will is no less
dependent upon the culture it receives than the mind, the
value of sloyd chiefly ought to be considered from this most
important point of view; that is, the training it affords the
will.

It is said that the will is made of, and conditioned by,
traces of past volitions, so that in a sense it can be said
that we will with all we have willed, and in a direction
which is the resultant of actual experience. Thus the
oftener we have made our will active, the stronger it is.

SLOYD 165

Let us glance into a class-room where sloyd is being taught.
Here we find all the pupils interested and eager to reach
a longed-for end; that is, a finished model of more or
less difficult construction. Their whole attention is con-
centrated upon their work, as they well know that a care-
less cut or an untrue mark will result in a poor model;
and, as they are very anxious to produce perfect work, they
bring forth all the attention and care in their power. As
it generally does not come natural to a child to apply these
powers, he has constantly to bring his will power to bear
upon the required faculties, and he has consequently a con-
tinuous training of his will. This training largely depends
upon the child's interest, not in the very work, but in the
result of the work, or the finished model. If this interest
is not kept up, he will lose this most important result of
sloyd.

Repeated failures and disappointments in regard to his
models may even have an injurious influence upon his will
power. A child that uses his best ability and care, and
still fails to complete models satisfactorily to himself or to
his teacher, is discouraged; or, in other words, his will
becomes weaker instead of stronger. I believe any subject
may have an injurious influence if not taught in the right
way; but the danger seems to me still greater in manual
training, where the physical, the mental, and also the moral
faculties are said to be involved.

By a slight modification of models and exercises, sloyd
may serve as an important factor in the education of the
blind. A systematically arranged series of simple wooden
articles will prove a well-adapted means for acquainting
blind children with many facts from the outer world,
otherwise hidden from their observation. A general man-
ual dexterity is necessary for their independence and hap-
piness; and, if the end of education is, as Mr. James Mill
gives it, "to render an individual as much as possible an
instrument of happiness, first to himself, and next to other
beings," I believe sloyd one of the most important subjects
in their education to lead up to that end.

J. H. Trybom.
Perkins Institution for the Blind, Boston.

Y6§ THE MENTOR

THE BLIND SCHOOL AT ANGERS (FRANCE):

ITS OBJECT, MEANS, RESULTS.

I. The chief aim of the school at Angers is to develop
the moral faculties of the blind. They are convinced in
this school that the peculiar distinctions which are made to
surround blindness are injurious to those moral qualities
without which the best dispositions are worthless in prac-
tical life. In fact, all the specialties used for the blind —
machines, systems, apparatus, conventions, etc. — -have for
object to facilitate everything around them, to foresee every
possible difficulty that they may encounter, and so order
everything under their fingers that physical movement
only is required, without bringing the intellect at all into
play. By means of these combinations, which may be in-
genious in themselves, the blind student, having no further
occasion to use his individual will, and finding nothing to
demand his personal application or to arouse his intuition,
is likely to fall into the dangerous habit of rejecting every-
thing outside his special systems, and for no other reason
than that they are outside.

To reduce a blind person thus to working more or less
skilfully such and such a machine, to perform such and
such movements with more or less rapidity, is evidently
not the way to increase his moral worth, as all education
worthy of the name ought to do.

In like manner, it does not raise the moral worth of the
blind in the eyes of the public to constantly associate him
with apparatus that renders him singular, — -at times even
ridiculous, — and that always makes a sort of curiosity of
him ; for these specialties bear in themselves the unfortu-
nate indication of his infirmity, and, for that reason alone,
cannot but wound his sense of personal dignity.

II. They reject, therefore, in the school at Angers all
that makes the blind singular, as well as all that tends to
make them contract physical habits different from those
common to sighted children.

THE BLIND SCHOOL AT ANGERS 167

The aspect, therefore, of a class in this school is the
same as among the sighted, with the exception of a few-
books the type of which is raised (although not bulky, on
account of the small type to which the pupils are accus-
tomed), and a few historical charts and maps, also embossed.
There is nothing to turn the interest of the visitor into
curiosity, or produce that astonishment which so often finds
expression in the words: "How wonderful! How strange!
They use dots. One cannot understand a word, but they
understand it among themselves."

On the contrary, we have often heard people say, on
visiting the school at Angers: "Really, these children
work just as we do! However can they do it? " In this
case, the astonishment turns to the honor of him who cre-
ates it, and raises his moral value in giving him more in
common with the rest of the human race.

The means which are used at Angers are of extreme sim-
plicity, and answer perfectly to the requirements of the
blind; for, in order that a blind person may write as we
do, a guide only is needed to direct his movements. His
fingers are as supple as ours, his intellect as accessible to
the variety of forms, his memory as powerful, his will as
tenacious; and, consequently, we can obtain the vulgar
characters from the blind student as soon as he has a guide
to help him to form them sufficiently raised for his touch.

In the school at Angers they supply such a guide, and
they expect the blind pupil to accustom his hand to trace
the different characters necessary to the expression of his
thought. By these lineal characters, varied in form, the
blind avoid those jerky and brutish movements occasioned
by the use of the point, and which are apt to produce ner-
vous twitchings, effects of idiocy in persons predisposed
that way.

With this special guide the blind at Angers write like
ordinary people, and on the paper generally used in the
world at large. The touch is exercised by making the
blind read all sorts of writing in numerous exercise books.
All the means employed in this school, it will be seen,

j 68 THE MENTOR

aim, not at avoiding difficulties and unexpected circum-
stances, but rather at multiplying them, in order that the
practised skill of the blind may never be taken by surprise,
and that they may be stimulated to familiarize themselves
with the ways of the sighted.

III. We are happy to say that the capabilities of the
blind have never failed to equal the difficulties encoun-
tered, since forty out of forty pupils have been able, by
practice, to acquire equal rapidity in reading, writing, and
calculation in this as in any other system. As a proof of
its results, the school at Angers purposes sending its pupils
with sighted candidates to compete in the local exami-
nations for certificat cT etude, brevet du ler et du 2e ordre,
baccalaureat, etc.

Sure of the practical success of its method, the school
reserves the complete application of it until the day when
it will be able to affirm its superiority over all other con-
ventional systems, by facts public and general, like those
already presented at the conference of March 17, 1891, —
facts which will leave no hold to systematic opposition.

If this is the slowest means, it is also the surest of work-
ing seriously at the amelioration of the condition of the
blind, whose greatest need is to be in direct relation with

the sighted.

Alice Eleanor Stembridge.
Brighton, England.

THE BRAILLE AND NEW YORK POINT SYS-
TEMS OF MUSICAL NOTATION.

There is, perhaps, no subject relating to the education
of the blind about which there exists such a difference of
opinion as that of musical notation. Almost every one
will concede that a written system of music — a system
which the blind can read and write themselves — is much
preferable to the old method of oral dictation; but the
question is, What system shall we have? Shall we have

BRAILLE AND NEW YORK POINT SYSTEMS 169

Braille or New York point? Each of these systems has its
able champions, who firmly believe that the system they
support is much the better of the two; and the indications
are that the time is far distant when there shall be any-
thing like unity of opinion on this question.

We believe, however, that unity would be much more
easily attained if every one interested in the subject of
musical notation for the blind would carefully study each
system, with an earnest desire to find out which of the two
is the better. Believing as we do that every one who can
say anything to throw light on this subject should do so,
we beg leave briefly to give our experience with the two
systems. We devoted an entire term in our school to
the study of the New York point system. We adopted it
not because we considered it superior to the Braille, but
solely on the ground that all the music at the American
Printing House was printed in that system. We had no
press of our own, and it did not seem likely that the time
would soon come when music in the Braille system would
be printed at the American Printing House. So, feeling
that we must submit to what seemed to be the inevitable,
we determined to adopt the New York point, and to use it
exclusively, provided it would answer our purposes. But,
at the same time we were personally convinced that the
Braille was the better of the two, having devoted several
years to the study of both systems.

Our pupils entered into the study of the New York point
with great enthusiasm, and were much pleased when they
could transcribe their lessons into a system which they
themselves could read. Most of them worked diligently
and perseveringly; and at the end of the term there were
but few of them who were unable to transcribe their lessons
in the New York point. They were all warm advocates of
this system. It was the first they had learned, and they
knew little or nothing of the Braille. But we were not
satisfied. We could not but notice that our pupils made
but slow progress in comparison with those of other institu-
tions where the Braille is tausrht. So we determined at

I JO

THE MENTOR

the beginning of this term to abandon the New York point
and adopt the Braille, relying on the presses of Europe for
our music, until we could have a press of our own or ob-
tain music in Braille at the American Printing House.

At the beginning of this term it was announced to our
pupils that we would begin the study of the Braille system.
Some of them were not well pleased with the idea of having
to learn a new system; but they had not been studying it
very long before they were delighted with the change, and
now all of them can transcribe their lessons with facility
in the Braille, and in almost half the time required to do it
in the New York point. Our experience with the systems
has, perhaps, convinced us more than all arguments could
have done of the vast superiority of the Braille.

The fact that the New York point is superior to the
Braille in "tangibility, clearness of expression, and com-
pleteness for all purposes " we do not find to be sustained
when subjected to the test of experience. Our pupils have
not been studying the Braille as long as they did the New
York point, but they can now read it much more rapidly.-
We cannot now recall a single mistake made by any of
them from the so-called ambiguity of having the same sign
to represent notes of different values. It required only a
few moments to explain the principle to them, so that the
youngest pupil could understand it. Our pupils have tran-
scribed a great deal of music in the Braille system, of every
variety and grade; and we find it adequate for all purposes.
It may not be out of place in this connection to add that a
short time ago one of our senior pupils, who was learning
the Sonata Pathttique from a copy in Braille, asked his
teacher how the introduction could be written in New York
point. The teacher was compelled to reply that he did not
know how it could be correctly done.

It is not our purpose to enter into the discussion of the
respective merits of the two systems. This has been so
ably done by Messrs. Reeves and Hosmer, in their excel-
lent pamphlet entitled "The Wait and Braille Musical No-
tation Reviewed and Compared," that we do not think any-

THE PRESENT OPPORTUNITY iyi

thing more could be added. Our experience has clearly
proved to us what was there stated, — that the Braille
is more easily learned and retained than the New York
point; and, as it occupies much less space, and the labor
of writing is much less, a great deal of valuable time is
saved. We think this is one of the most important con-
siderations in determining the merits of the two systems.

We abandoned the New York point in favor of the
Braille through no prejudice, but from the profound con-
viction that the Braille more effectively conduces to the
progress of our pupils. We could not conscientiously con-
tinue the use of the New York point when we were confi-
dent that, by using the Braille, our pupils would advance
much more rapidly. We have no reason to regret the
change, but, on the contrary, every reason to be gratified.
How any unbiased mind, after carefully studying both sys-
tems, can fail to see that the Braille has intrinsic advan-
tages over the New York point is beyond our comprehen-
sion. A system may be invented superior to the Braille;
but we are fully convinced that it is by far the best system,
both for musical and literary purposes, that has yet been
devised for the use of the blind.

A. W. Williams.
Talladega, Ala.

THE PRESENT OPPORTUNITY.

A glance at the record of the year just elapsed reveals
increased activity in printing and in the study of embossed
systems. In England, the British and Foreign Blind As-
sociation has increased its already large number of Braille
writers, multiplied its publications, and is seeking to ex-
tend their use abroad. In the venerable asylum and school
for the blind in Edinburgh, where Braille stereotyping and
printing were introduced not long ago, the press has been
steadily at work; and other schools have benefited by its
products. The Braille Book Society, the editors of Santa
Lucia and others have labored in the same direction; and a

172

THE MENTOR

large part of the books produced have been written by
hand.

In France, Holland, and Sweden, Braille book societies
have sprung up. Some of the German schools have been
steadily striving to reduce the bulkiness and the weariness
of Braille writing by a series of contractions amounting to
a short-hand system. This was presented at the convention
at Kiel last August; and it is worthy of remark that, so
strongly were the committee, intrusted with this subject,
impressed with the importance of such improvements, they
recommended the introduction of the system into the schools
immediately after completing the first reading-book. In
other words, they esteemed it of practical value for all but
the most elementary work, rather than an accomplishment
for advanced students. Although their suggestion was not
adopted, further tests and the publication of a book were
recommended; and the committee was enlarged by two ad-
ditional members.

In the city of Angers, in Western France, the directress
of the school for the blind has invented a means of writing
which is being tested, and which its advocates believe to
be destined to revolutionize the methods of the blind, and
therefore their social status. The invention consists of a
guide by which the blind can write in characters resem-
bling the ordinary script, at the same time embossing them
so as to be legible to touch. If the writing is intended for
the eye, a sheet of "impression paper" gives the needful
coloring to make it as legible as if written in ink, its ap-
pearance reminding one of the work of the Heboid writing
machine. The embossing is accomplished by the stylus,
working in regular cells, and tracing the characters upon
paper which rests upon a thin cushion. Thus we have the
chasm between the writing of the blind and that of the
sighted bridged by a method apparently available to both.
It remains to be determined by practical tests whether this
writing is sufficiently tangible for the average blind reader.

In the United States the publication, last year, of a
review of embossed systems, by William B. Wait of the

THE PRESENT OPPORTUNITY

173

New York Institution for the Blind, and the rejoinders
which it called forth, have stimulated inquiry. A number
of schools have caught the spirit of investigation, and
officers and pupils are studying the question. Instigated
by the pamphlet by Messrs. Reeves and Hosmer, comparing
the Wait and the Braille musical notations, their efforts
have been, in large measure, in the line of musical work;
and the results of their examinations are producing a strong
reaction in favor of the Braille musical notation, with in-
dications that at the approaching convention, which is sum-
moned to meet at Brantford, Canada, in July, a call will be
made on the American Printing House for Braille music.
In a few of the schools the literary systems are receiving
some study, and it is much to be regretted that they are
not having more general attention. Literary and musical
work in the American schools for the blind are so closely
related that they deserve equal consideration. Here there
are three point systems to be examined instead of two, —
the English Braille, the New York, and the improved
Braille, — their comparative merits differing like those of
the notations, but in a degree a little less marked. It will
undoubtedly be possible for the schools which abandon the
New York notation to still adhere to the New York liter-
ary system; but the attendant inconveniences would prob-
ably prevent long use of two systems and two different
styles of writing frames. It is well, therefore, to consider
whether the English, or the improved Braille, should be
adopted. They are equally adapted for use with the Braille
musical notation, and either may be required from the
American Printing House. If the English Braille be
selected, it involves an added amount of space and labor
as compared with either the New York or the improved
Braille, — ■ in other words, it is a step backward, — in com-
pensation for which there is the chance of importing such
books as the British and Foreign Blind Association has
published. If the improved Braille is chosen, it will be
consistent with the motives which lead to the adoption of
the Braille notation, and will be an onward step in the

I74 THE MENTOR

line of progress; but it has no literature, for Boston has
as yet (if I am rightly informed) done nothing to meet the
needs of Braille readers beyond printing a primer in the
improved method.

In the endeavor for higher culture or in the struggle for
existence, he who must learn and labor by the sense of
touch drags, at the best, a wearisome chain. Every means
that will lighten his burden and expedite his efforts, with-
out diminishing the accuracy and thoroughness of his work,
encourages him to higher attainments, and brings him
nearer to his sighted competitors, who have in all things
the incalculable advantage of speedier methods. In the
educational field no one thing contributes more effectively
toward this end than a simplification of methods of reading
and writing; and, if a point system is to be used, and
eighty points can express as legibly and correctly that for
which a hundred points have been required, he who insists
upon the greater number taxes his pupils with a needless
burden, wastes a portion of their time and, in so far, retards
their progress. To impose upon present and future genera-
tions of the blind an inferior literary system simply be-
cause it has been long in use, and some books have been
printed therein, would be an unpardonable folly, exhibited
in bold relief in the light of a change from the New York
to the Braille musical notation, — all the more unpardona-
ble in America, where, as in no other country, a large
printing-office supported by the government is at the ser-
vice of the schools for the blind, to produce such literature
as the superintendents demand. In America, too, as well
as in England, there are generous hands who would gladly
make "copy," and hundreds of idle blind girls, longing for
occupation, who could rapidly swell the volume of needful
literature.

It is therefore incumbent upon superintendents and
teachers to make thorough and extended tests, and, through
practical use of the various literary as well as the musical
systems, to fit themselves for clear and candid judgment.
Now is an opportunity offered more clearly than ever before

MUSICAL ORGANIZA TIONS

175

for a wise choice among existing methods, — a choice which
shall not be influenced by age or by novelty, by prestige or
by unpopularity, but solely by the inherent worth of the
system, its ability to meet all literary (or musical) needs,
its legibility, compactness, and its frugality of the precious
time of the blind. To attempt to settle arbitrarily, now
and forever, this question of printing, is like bandaging the
feet of the Chinese infant; and its results would be as
deplorable. The entire subject of embossed methods is
still in too early a stage of development to be definitely
settled in this generation; but every instructor, by taking
the most advanced step possible in his time, can hasten the
evolution of more perfect methods.

E. E. K.

MUSICAL ORGANIZATIONS AMONG THE BLIND
OF PHILADELPHIA.

This grand old city of ours contains many excellent
blind musicians in every branch of the art; yet we regret
the fact that it is, so far, impossible to effect organization
among them which should embrace a worthy representation
of every line of musical work in which the blind here are
engaged. We have organists of every grade; also numer-
ous teachers, piano-tuners, etc. Most of these have a com-
fortable livelihood. We have, however, a few musical or-
ganizations; and we hope the readers of The Mentor will
indulge us for a few moments while we give some items
which may interest and probably stimulate them in their
work.

The oldest organization is the Enterprise Orchestra, which
has been in existence about ten years, and has made a suc-
cess in its line of business. The members are engaged for
entertainments and balls, and can furnish a suitable or-
chestra either for a small concert hall or a large dancing-
floor. This orchestra is fortunate enough to have among

176

THE MENTOR

its members one with partial sight, who renders invaluable
assistance as music-reader and director.

The Phonic Male Quartette (P. M. Q.) is an organiza-
tion which is meeting with much success. It is one of the
best equipped quartettes which is met with; for its mem-
bers embrace composers, verse-makers, piano-tuners, and
instrumental performers; so, in addition to being a male
quartette, it is capable of giving entertainments of much
variety. It has the material for successful touring; but
the members all have permanent occupation in the city, so
they only take engagements here or in the near vicinity.

An organization known as the Society of Musical Fel-
lowship (S. M. F.) has been started, with a small but
live membership, and with much promise for the future.
The objects of this society are musical improvement and
stimulation, a closer acquaintance among its members,
assisting and recommending each other in their special
lines of work, and giving public entertainments from time
to time. The Conversational Department promotes in-
terchange of ideas on the several lines of work in which
the members are engaged, — discussion of musical topics,
reviews and expression of opinions upon concerts of every
class, and organ, piano, and singing recitals, etc., bringing
in musical essays, and, in short, keeping up with the times.
Then follows a musical programme to which each member
is expected to contribute. A detailed account of the
proceedings is kept, and is considered a wise provision, as
the sources of information to which the blind have access
are very limited. In this society the members have an
incentive to think out questions and ideas, to learn new
music, and also to compose, — all of which particulars are
very acceptable in the association. The society is com-
posed of ladies and gentlemen, all of whom are excellent
musicians and interested in its organization.

There is another society which deserves mention, and
this is a chorus formed by the ladies of the Working
Home for Blind Women. There are a large number of
musicians there who have organized themselves in this wise

TRAINING OF SENSE-PERCEPTION iyy

for their own recreation, and to give entertainment at char-
itable institutions in their neighborhood, and also to make
things more enjoyable at the sales and other affairs at the
Home. They are directed by an able musician of their
number, and give a fine rendition of what they sing.

These are all the organizations which have come to our
knowledge; yet these are very encouraging, and we hope
that our musicians will understand the value of closer
union everywhere, and that we shall one day see a complete
revolution of that popular feeling which is so great an
obstacle in the career of a sightless person in the pursuit of
a most lovely profession. a. k.

Philadelphia, Pa.

THE TRAINING OF SENSE-PERCEPTION.

In my article in the March issue of this magazine I
promised that, in one to follow, I would explain to my see-
ing friends how we, without sight, are able to traverse the
highways with such a degree of ease and certainty. It is
said that a promise is good until it is kept. Therefore,
mine is still good; and I will fulfil it in a future number,
as I now wish to speak of a subject of equal interest and of
much greater importance.

Before entering upon a discussion of the theme of this
article, I wish to say that the theory which it advances has
the indorsement of Dr. C. V. Chapin, Professor of Physiol-
ogy of Brown University, to whose lectures I am indebted
for the ideas which I have endeavored to develop and
apply.

It is now maintained by all the more advanced physiolo-
gists that all sensation is located in, or is a condition of,
the mind. They believe that they have proved conclu-
sively that the organs, such as the eye, the ear, the nose,
the tongue, and the various nerves of touch spread all over
the surface of our bodies, do not contain the sensations
usually attributed to them, but that they are simply con-

i78

THE MENTOR

ductors. As the telegraph wire connects the various cities
along its route, so these nerves connect the brain, and,
through the brain, the mind, with the world outside of the
body in which it dwells.

We are told that this analogy between our nerves and a
telegraph line is perfect. Any one who -has visited a tele-
graph office knows that the messages as delivered by the
wire are all alike to the uninitiated, being merely a com-
bination of clicks. Physiologists tell us that it is just so
in the brain. All the sensations received by it through
the various organs of communication between it and the
outer world are the same, and are distinguished and inter-
preted by the mind as the messages received over the wire
in a telegraph office are understood and recorded by the
operator. In other words, there is but one sensation re-
ceived by the brain from the various organs ; and that is
touch. We therefore learn from these facts that seeing is
but the mind feeling of objects at a distance through the
medium of certain vibrations in the atmosphere known as
light, that hearing is the mind reaching out and touch-
ing other things through the medium of certain vibrations
in the atmosphere called sound. The same is also true of
the working of each of the other senses.

The limits of this article will permit of my giving but
few of the proofs which scientists present in support of
this theory of sensation. The first proof given is one of
the most interesting, and at the same time one of the most
convincing, among many that might be cited.

If, for any reason, a person loses a hand by amputation
at the wrist, he will for a long time afterward have pain
where the hand was, just .as really as when it was a part of
his body. Again, if after amputation you stick a pin
into the end of the wrist from which the hand was removed,
you will not feel the pain where the pin was inserted, but
will feel it where the ends of the fingers would be, were
the hand again rejoined to the wrist. These statements
will doubtless seem incredible to those to whom the ideas
are new, but they are nevertheless true. If you should

TRAINING OF SENSE-PERCEPTION

179

know any one who has lost a limb, you can easily prove
their truth to your complete satisfaction.

The explanation of these phenomena is the strongest
proof of this theory of sensation. It is this: The nerves
which, after amputation, end at the wrist, before that oper-
ation extended into the hand, some, of them to the ends of
the fingers. The mind has become habituated by long ex-
perience to refer to the hand all sensation caused by mes-
sages received over these nerves. So fixed has this habit
become that it takes the mind months, and in some cases
years, to learn to refer the sensations due to messages over
these nerves to the new point of contact.

Every one knows that he frequently looks directly at an
object without seeing it. This happens when the mind is
otherwise engaged, and takes no cognizance of the nerve
message received by the brain from the eye. If, as is gen-
erally supposed, the sense of sight were located in the eye,
such an occurrence would be impossible.

These facts substantiate the theory that there is no sensi-
bility in the nerves themselves, and that all sentient life is
situated in the mind.

The following, gathered from my own experience, seems
to be a further proof of the soundness of this theory of
sensation : —

Those who see know, and those who have seen will re-
member, that, when a tree or any object stands in the right
relation to the sun, it will cast a shadow. Frequently,
when rushing along at full speed, I have been brought sud-
denly to a full stop by what seemed to be an object directly
across my path. Investigation showed, however, that the
pathway was perfectly clear. It also showed that there
was some large object at the side of the path just on a line
with the spot where the object had apparently been. As
I cannot see light, I know that I did not see the shadow,
even if there had been one. My mind must, then, have
discerned the shadow through the sense of touch, which
proves that sight and touch are identical, or so nearly so
that one may be mistaken for the other.

I So THE MENTOR

The identity of the senses is further substantiated by the
fact that we are continually confounding the senses of taste
and smell, mistaking the one for the other.

We see, therefore, that it is not a difference in the
quality of the nerve message received by the brain that in-
dicates to the mind the source from which the sensation is
derived, but that the mind determines, by the channel
through which any given sensation is aroused, whether it
proceeds from the eye, the ear, the nose, the mouth, or
some one of the myriad little nerves spread all over the
surface of our bodies.

Not only does the mind determine the exact spot of
contact on the surface of the body by the nerve over
which the message is brought to it, but experience teaches
us that it is largely, ifnot wholly, a matter of education or
habit — habit being but education perfected — as to which
of the various organs of sensation available the mind uses
to gather a knowledge of its surroundings. For instance,
the minds of those who see perceive the objects about them
by the means of sight, whereas the minds of the blind
obtain the same information by means of the ear and the
multitudinous nerves which line the skin covering our
bodies, principally that on the hands and face.

Those who are conversant with the blind and their meth-
ods of working know that, through special training, the
senses of hearing and touch can be made to take the place
of sight when that sense is lost ; but few of them, proba-
bly, understand from a scientific point of view why this
substitution of senses is possible or how it is brought
about, for it is only within a short time that specialists in
this science have understood the theory of sensation. But,
now that it is understood, will it not be of great assistance
to those who are engaged in the training of the blind?

The practical side of this question and its value to the
blind is this: if, as science seems to clearly demonstrate,
it is possible to train the mind to substitute the use of
one sense for another, will not careful, patient, persistent
study of the mind's workings enable us to formulate a

TRAINING OF SENSE-PERCEPTION

181

theory whereby the young blind child may be taught to
make his ears, his face, his hands, and his feet serve him
instead of eyes? Perhaps this is visionary; perhaps I am
a dreamer. But this does not seem less possible of
achievement than many of the intellectual feats which sci-
entists are daily performing. Were this done, how much
energy and valuable time might be saved to the young
child, which he now spends groping about in the dark
for this knowledge, until he stumbles upon it, as it were
by chance, or misses it entirely, as many do!

Habit; perfected by constant practice through successive
generations since the creation of man, has brought the
organs of sensation, as originally designed, to their present
state of perfection. Therefore, when necessity forces upon
one organ the functions naturally belonging to another, we
can expect but imperfect performance at the best. This
fact greatly enhances the value of the training time of the
blind youth, and lends to every additional moment incal-
culable worth.

Knowing that many of my acts of perception, particularly
those made with the nerves of touch located in the face, are
as direct acts of volition as those of the seeing when they
look at objects with the eye, I am anxious that it be made
possible to teach the young blind child how to perform
these voluntary acts of perception, so that he may not be
obliged to discover the possibility for himself. That a
more complete knowledge of this theory of sense-perception
is going to make such instruction possible I fully believe;
and it is to call the attention of educators of the blind to
this subject, and to solicit their interest in it, that I have
written this article. So great is my belief in the possibil-
ity of such instruction, and the possibilities such instruc-
tion will open to those who may enjoy it, that I am sure
that they will be able to say, with one of old, "Eureka! "

J. Vars.
Newport, R.I.

!82 THE MENTOR

SHOULD THE BLIND MARRY?

Let. us open this discussion with another question,
Should anybody marry? "Why, yes," you say, "of course;
that is, if they wish to, and if there is no special reason
why they should not."

Marriage is a divine institution, the objects being domes-
tic happiness and the perpetuity of the race. It devolved
upon our first parents and the family of Noah to people the
earth ; but Drummond says that what the world wants now
is not more of us, but a better brand of us. Is it not in-
cumbent upon every man to leave his place filled with a
superior type of humanity ? Viewing the race as a whole,
we say that marriage is a duty owed to the Creator; but,
in individual cases, enlightened conscience must decide.
Only let marriage be the rule, and not the exception.

The home is the unit of society, and every new one that
is founded in virtue is a blessing to the nation. As young
birds leave the cosey parent nest to find their mates and
build for themselves, so young men and maidens are en-
dowed with the same divine instinct to unite and build
their own house. An artificial home is better than none;
but every true home is the abode of parents and children,
and is founded on lawful marriage.

It follows, then, that those, and those only, should marry
who are likely to transmit a healthy physical and mental
organism, and to maintain a suitable home. We have seen
an end of all perfection. Where, then, shall we draw the
line? Incest is forbidden; yet cousins marry, and thou-
sands of defective children are the result. The inebriate
is allowed to entail his infernal appetite, with all its at-
tendant evils upon helpless offspring. Insanity is no objec-
tion, if the individual be outside a mad-house. The frail
consumptive, whose ancestors never lived to rear their chil-
dren, is perfectly free to bequeath more orphans to the
world. The worn-out and the immature are allowed to
marry; and criminals have been permitted to multiply

SHOULD THE BLIND MARRY 183

themselves, till they have become a distinct class in the
nation.

Granting now that blindness is worse than alcoholism,
imbecility, lunacy, or depravity, and that the blind should
be kept under stricter discipline than the rest of humanity,
we ask, Are these persons, in marrying, likely to depreciate
the race? Here statistics would be of great value.

Where blindness results from pre-natal accident, or from
any natural weakness of the eyes, it seems almost certain
to become hereditary. The marriage of one such person
might result in a hundred cases of blindness within a cen-
tury. Although life under any circumstances is a blessing
in view of eternal felicity, it is better to bless the lives
already given than to swell the number of those who suffer
with us. To such let me say in all sympathy, if you have
means, make a home for yourself without a husband or
wife, and take to your heart some orphan child, who will
satisfy parental craving and give you something to live for.

But blindness is not always hereditary. When caused
by violence or illness, there is no more reason why it
should be transmitted than an amputated limb. On the
other hand, seeing people do sometimes have blind chil-
dren. In short, any one who marries, though under the
most favorable auspices, takes the fearful risk of increasing
misery for time and eternity. Blind persons who have
charge of seeing children are very careful of their eyes;
and, if from any cause blindness should ensue, who knows
so well as they how to soften the calamity? Of the four
blind persons whom I know in this city who lost their
sight in childhood, all have seeing parents; and the only
one of the four who is married is the mother of as useful a
pair of eyes as Nature ever made.

We come now to the second question, — Can the blind
maintain a family? In every home there should be two
factors, the bread-winner and the housekeeper. This is
overlooked when the applicants for license chance to be a
dude and a belle, or a tramp and a slattern. The wealthy
business man may employ as many assistants as he likes in

1 84

THE MENTOR

his work of bread-winning, and the literary or professional
woman may shirk her responsibilities upon a hired house-
keeper and a governess; but, when the blind propose to
enter matrimony, — oh, that is quite different! It is true
that a smaller proportion of blind men have wealth or a
lucrative business; but why should those who have be con-
demned to live for self alone, because they cannot give to
society a guaranty that their riches will not take to them-
selves wings, or their business fail?

No woman has a right to be married until she can per-
form with her own hands all the really necessary work of a
family. This the blind can do, if so determined and prop-
erly trained. Some one has said that the one essential
qualification for good housekeeping is a keen sense of
smell. I believe there is more than one young woman in
the poorhouse or asylum who might illustrate the beautiful
words of inspiration found in Psalms lxviii. 6 and cxiii. 9.

A lady lecturer took shelter from a shower in the house
of a blind woman, and sneered audibly because the chil-
dren's playthings were scattered over the sitting-room
floor. Years after an intimate friend, visiting that home,
remarked, " I never knew a mother who had such perfect
control over the hearts of her children."

Whom should the blind marry? This is a more difficult
question. Not one another, I should say, though that
would seem to obviate all inequality. Any danger from
heredity would be increased. Besides, it is convenient to
have one good pair of eyes in the house, and hired sight
cannot be depended on. uAny one who will have me I
won't have," was the frequent boast of a blind lady of un-
certain age. So she would despise the man who could
appreciate her really noble qualities, and was willing to
defy public opinion in an attempt to make her happy.
Privately, among ourselves, we admit that blindness does
make us inferior; that is, inferior to what we ourselves
would be, should we now suddenly receive our sight. We
cannot, therefore, expect to marry on a level with our
family, unless nature or education has made us superior to

SHOULD THE BLIND MARRY

I85

our brothers and sisters. An extra dowry improves the
chances, — not to be considered as a bribe, but as a guar-
anty against special personal expenses.

Let me tell you a story. One of our institution girls
invested her patrimony, and for twenty years earned her
living in domestic service in different families. She
thought to leave her money to the Home for the Friend-
less; but, journeying homeward after a visit of inspection
to that institution, she met a widower who had lost all his
property, and modified her plan slightly. During a court-
ship of several months he never, by word or act, reminded
her of her blindness. After the betrothal she literally
compelled him to talk about it.

"Consider well," said the parson to him: "you will
have to be eyes for her." Judging that he would be able
to earn a living, she reinvested her means in a neat cottage
and furniture. Even the pantry shelves were piled with
the products of her skill. Crowned with her new name,
she took possession of her little kingdom, and, after in-
voking the divine blessing upon the new life, unpacked her
trunks, and shoved them out on the porch, exclaiming,
" Home at last! " Meanwhile some step-children held an
indignation meeting in the kitchen. The daughter was
soon after excused to go and live with a married sister, as
there was no use for a young lady in the house; but the
son remained to enjoy a mother's careful training.

A year or two after the marriage my friend's husband
inherited a farm in sight of the cottage. Did he leave her,
then? No. He had made too good a bargain.

"I shouldn't think he would have wanted to marry her."
This remark was made by an old lady to my friend's sister,
who was also blind; and, as if that were not bad enough,
she added, "Now should you? " The retort was quick and
sharp, — "My sister is as necessary to her husband as he is
to her."

When failing health made housekeeping harder than
before, my friend said to me, " I can afford to work to the
extent of my strength for the sake of this quiet resting-

iSe THE MENTOR

place." Rest, indeed! With the memory of that cottage
come the odor of sweet mignonette and the drowsy hum of
bees. When strength was utterly gone, she still directed
all the minutiae, and for five years more was the real home-
maker. In my last visit, as I sat by her couch, and read to
her of the city of gold, she said: "It is only for my hus-
band's sake that I dread death. When I am gone, he will
have no home."

And now, reader, would you like a companion piece?

A blind girl who had nothing but talent and ambition
left her father's house to escape the galling yoke of de-
pendence. A strange man who pretended to be a minister
of the gospel followed her to a distant city, and, with fair
promises, misrepresentation, and downright falsehood, won
her confidence. She had been told by her friends that
blindness had doomed her to be an "old maid," so she
caught at this seeming triumph, and was married. In
three days she would have given her right arm to be free.
His first command was to give up her high notions, and
come down to his level.

About this time she chanced to meet a former acquaint-
ance (a well-known literary woman), who asked, "What
man was that I saw with you?" Trying hard to look
proud, the poor bride answered, "My husband."

" Youi' ]msband!" exclaimed the other, in explosive
accents. "Are you married? He must be a very unself-
ish, noble-minded man to marry you. Why, most men
would not even think of loving you!" Writhing under
this insult, she sought comfort from a common friend, also
professional. That lady eyed the man critically, and gave
this verdict, "Judging from his looks, I should say that
he could not have done much better." He took her to a
wild frontier village, where she suffered poverty and degra-
dation, which she had no skill to ameliorate. At first
sight of her, one of the villagers exclaimed: "My God!
How did he ever get her?" Another said, "He never
could have caught that woman if she had not been blind."
Finally, she turned a deaf ear to all his entreaties, and

THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS 187

went back to her father's house. To secure her child, the
pear] for which she had dived so deep, she was compelled
to brand herself with the disgrace of a divorce.

Now she must suffer dependence for two; and, because
strangers might not believe that a blind girl could be
legally married, the little one must be kept in the shade.
On the day which should have been the silver wedding,
these two sat pensively together; and the mother said:
"Am I glad or am I sorry? I can tell better a hundred
years from now, when I have seen where you land on the
other shore."

Granting the legal and moral right, do the blind wish to
marry? They have all the natural motives in common
with the seeing; but the danger of failure is greater, and
the consequences are worse. "If it were not for the neces-
sity of being loved," says one; and "It is very pleasant to
be necessary to some one," says another. True, but it is
galling to see those we love best despised on our account.

In conclusion, let me say that marriage, when once sol-
emnized, is as binding with the blind as with the seeing;
and for friends to persuade them to separate is simply
criminal.

Clara B. Aldrich.
Joliet, III.

THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS.

As the traveller journeys westward, along the great
plains which lie east of the Rocky Mountains, those lofty
summits gradually rise into view. Though dim and indis-
tinct at first, as he approaches nearer, each peak is clearly
outlined against the western sky. Rising one above an-
other, they seem to frown upon the pathway like the for-
midable battlements of some powerful despot, or like grim
sentinels guarding the treasures of the universe, and bid-
ding defiance to all who should attempt to pass their rocky
portals.

Such, indeed, they seemed to those early pioneers who

1 88 THE MENTOR

first visited this region, then known as "The Wild West."
But within those gloomy fortresses lay wealth untold, and
beyond were rich valleys and the great ocean destined to be
the broad highway of the world's commerce. They could
not go around the mountains: they must go through.

So man's ingenuity and enterprise, his labor and capital,
were called into requisition, and the mountains were
crossed. And to-day, as the traveller in his palace car is
borne up almost perpendicular heights and along the verge
of rocky chasms to his destination beyond, it is hard for
him to realize the magnitude of the work which has made
this possible.

There was a time when blindness rose a seemingly im-
passable barrier across the path of him who would make
any effort toward self-support or improvement. The moun-
tains of difficulty are there still, but they are no longer
impassable. Many a road has been cut through ; and many
brave ones have crossed, reaching the goal of success
beyond. And back along the line come words of inspira-
tion and encouragement. All praise to the noble pioneers
in this work!

I once heard the remark, "All things are harder for a
blind person to do except what he can do with his brain."

I would agree with the first part of the statement, but
would make no exception. All brain-work, from the solv-
ing of a problem to the writing of a book, cannot fail to be
facilitated by the aid of sight, all other conditions being
equal. The senses should be the well-trained servants of
the brain ; and it cannot say to any of them, " I have no
need of thee."

Music has long held a foremost place in the curriculum
of our schools, because it was believed to be especially
adapted to the capacity of the sightless. I grant that more
have attained success in this employment than in any other,
and I would not depreciate the value of a musical training.
Neither would I give it pre-eminence, except where special
talents justify it; and I question whether the greater suc-
cess in this line is not due, rather, to the superior atten-

ADVICE TO MUSIC TEACHERS ^9

tion given to it, and the general confidence felt in the
blind musician, than to any special adaptability of this
vocation over many others.

We come, naturally, to regard the most travelled roads
the best and safest. You take your seat in a Chicago train
with your ticket for Portland or San Francisco, feeling
quite sure that there is a good and safe transit over the
mountains. So the boy or girl who has chosen a musical
career, or any other often followed by the blind, is tolera-
bly certain of success, if he possess the ability, training,
and character needful which constitute his passport.

But these roads are already crowded ; and many there are
who cannot gain a passport to success by them, and who
are bravely toiling to find other paths which shall lead to
the same end. May they not only be successful them-
selves, but may they open the way for others !

While it is true that the want of sight is an impediment
in all lines of work, it is equally true that nearly all can be
successfully pursued without it. Let us, then, choose our
work according to our fitness in other respects, regarding
this obstacle only as one of many which must and will
yield to ability, patience, and industry.

And let us keep one truth constantly in mind: the only
road to true success lies through the mountains of difficulty.

An Iowa Reader.

ADVICE TO MUSIC TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS
FOR THE BLIND.

[Translated from Le Valentin Haiiy.^

Many schools for the blind do not sufficiently seek — and
some do not seek at all — to prepare the blind to teach the
seeing. In some of these schools it is boldly asserted that
the blind may be organists, but they do not understand
teaching music. This is generally claimed in schools
where music is taught by the seeing, whose statement,
under such circumstances, excites suspicion. For myself,
I maintain that, if the blind cannot teach music, not only

190

THE MENTOR

to other sightless persons, but to the seeing, they should
abandon the study of an art from which, after leaving
school, they can reap no real profit, the pay of an organist
being quite insufficient to meet the necessities of life. To
the blind musician without means something more than the
position of organist is necessary: he must have teaching.
It is teaching which secures for the sightless, as well as
for the sighted, an advantageous position, and one which
affords adequate pecuniary resources.

.Yes, whether he wishes to do so or not, a blind person
can successfully teach music to the seeing. He can teach
solfeggio, the piano and various instruments, singing,
harmony, counterpoint, and fugue. This is now an estab-
lished fact, and experience is conclusive. Would you be
convinced by other evidence than my assertion, go where
blind teachers train their pupils. After a few lessons you
will no longer retain the slightest doubt on this subject.
It goes without saying that among the blind as among the
seeing there are more and less capable music-teachers.
Inferiority of instruction, then, is attributable to personal
mediocrity, — not to blindness.

If it is a grave mistake to believe that a blind person
cannot teach music to the sighted, it would likewise be a
serious error to claim that such teaching presents no diffi-
culties, and that a teacher without sight can, for instance,
give a lesson upon the piano just as easily to a seeing
pupil, and with no more preparation than he requires in
teaching the blind. For success in teaching the sighted
special preparation is essential. The teacher needs, espe-
cially in the beginning, all the information, all the prac-
tical advice, which will help him to profit, step by step, by
the experience which others have acquired in the teaching
which he now attempts. Such advice and information is
contained in a little book published in Braille by the
director of the Valentin Haily and the Louis Braille, under
the title, "Conseils aux Musiciens Aveugles qui se desti-
nent a enseigner aux Clairvoyants."

You who teach music to blind children, — whether you

THE LATE MISS HOB SON 191

are gifted with sight or not, — compel yourselves to make
of your pupils not only virtuosos, artists, but also accom-
plished instructors. Prepare them to teach the instrument
which they are now studying in school. Make them prac-
tise technique, exercises, collections of studies, sonatas,
concertos, fantaisies, printed in Braille and in ink, with
the fingering, phrasing, and marks of expression of the
same authors in both systems, so that your pupils, when
they become teachers, will be able, without carrying in
memory a great number of new pieces, to make their
scholars pursue a course of study similar to the one you
have followed with them, modifying it as occasion requires.
Endeavor to have at least one seeing pupil, in order to give
you exact knowledge of the special difficulties in such
teaching, and thus enable your blind pupils to profit by
your personal experience.

Un Aveugle, Piofesseur de Musique.

THE LATE MISS HOBSON.

[From The Northern Whig, Belfast, Ireland]

Yesterday* the remains of this lady, one of our most
widely known philanthropists, were carried to their final
resting-place, followed by a number of our leading citizens
and many blind persons, whose cause and welfare she had
so much at heart. For twenty years she worked on their
behalf, leaving behind her those noble piles of buildings in
Royal Avenue and Charlemont Street, as monuments of her
work. The Association for Employment of the Indus-
trious Blind was founded by her. In 1871 she called a
meeting to see what could be done to amend the condition
of the blind by giving them instruction in such useful arts
as would enable them to earn a livelihood. The result was
that workshops were opened in a private house in Howard
Street, and nine men and women given employment. For

*Nov. 16, 1891.

192

THE MENTOR

a time the committee became very much discouraged.
However, Miss Hobson decided to persevere in the under-
taking, and made every effort to raise funds ; and, under
her care, concerts were held, which realized at the close
^500.

As time rolled on, Miss Hobson startled the committee
by the proposal of one of the best sites of Royal Avenue
for a home for the blind. The cost of the buildings would
be £4,000, and they had but £300 to begin with. But no
difficulties could damp the ardor of Miss Hobson or shake
her faith in God and her life-work. A fancy fair and grand
concert was held in Ulster Hall, which realized the sum of
.£2,300, and was followed by the gift of £500 by Lady
Johnson. On the 14th of March, 1883, the foundation
stone of the new buildings was laid by Miss Hobson; and
on the 14th of March, 1884, the workshops were opened,
the structures, fixtures, furnishings, tools, etc., costing
£6,000.

About this time Miss Hobson attended a conference held
at York by those interested in the blind. Here she met
the late Dr. Armitage, so well known in England as a
"friend of the blind," who found in her a kindred spirit,
took a great interest in her work, and offered £500 toward
clearing off the debt on the buildings. Lady Johnson
again responded with a similar offer; and in a short time,
through the energy of Miss Hobson, the debt was cleared off.

All through, by God's blessing, the undertaking had
steadily prospered; and before many years the necessity
for enlargement again became pressing. Miss Hobson
again undertook to raise the amount required, and offers
again were made by Dr. Armitage and Lady Johnson ; and
by the 31st of May, 1891, the amount was forthcoming for
the erection of new workshops. It is greatly to be regretted
that she did not live a few months longer to see them
completed.

On Saturday last the blind, in the workshops at Royal
Avenue, met to express their sorrow at their loss in her
removal. It might be said she lost her life in her last

THE LATE MISS HOBSON Tg^

effort in behalf of the blind. Only a fortnight ago Dr.
Campbell of the Royal Normal College and Academy of
Music for the Blind, London, brought a number of artists,
and gave a grand concert in Ulster Hall, at her request, in
aid of a sick fund and Home Teaching Society for the
Blind, at which she contracted a severe cold, which turned
to pneumonia; and on Friday last, perfectly resigned, she
was called to meet her Master she had long implicitly
trusted and had faithfully striven to serve.

AT HOME AND ABROAD.

FRANCE.

The Valentin Hauy Association has organized a pedagogic
competition between French and foreign typhlophiles upon the
subject: "The Advantage of Correcting the Deportment of the
Blind in Schools. Is there not a call for a special course in De-
portment and Manners ? Programme of this Course." The
papers are to be presented in French : they may be written in
ink or in Braille. They should not be signed, but should bear a
motto. It is requested that they be sent to the secretary of the
Valentin Hauy Association, 14 Avenue de Villars, Paris, before
June 1, 1892.

The judgment will be given by the Commission d' Etudes of the
administrative council of the Valentin Hauy Association, and the
best paper will be published in the Valentin Hauy. The author of
this paper will receive a silver medal and twenty-five copies of the
number of the Valentin Haily in which his article appears. A
bronze medal will be awarded to the paper next in rank. — Le
Valentin Haily for March.

ILLINOIS.

Chicago. — Through Mrs. E. P. Sampson, president of the
Chicago World's Fair Spanish Club, we learn that the city council
has " voted an additional $50,000 to the school fund, to be ex-
pended by the Board of Education to establish and maintain a
mental and manual training school for the blind in the city of
Chicago. By having this fund the Board of Education will be en-
abled to remove the disgrace of having two hundred blind under
twenty-one years of age without any educational advantages from
the public schools of the city."

Jacksonville. — The Illinois Board of World's Fair Commis-
sioners has unanimously decided to grant $6,000 to the Institution
for the Blind to defray the expenses of a proper exhibit at the
great fair next year, — this in addition to $3,000 for photographs of
the interior of the various State institutions. An ample room will
also be assigned the institution for its exhibit. And now the

AT HOME AND ABROAD

195

citizens of the great Sucker State may be sure that the institution,
which is doing so much for the amelioration of the condition of an
unfortunate class, and educating them for independence and use-
fulness, will be, in a measure, properly represented at the exhibi-
tion in 1893. — Jacksonville Weekly Journal.

INDIANA.

The Alumni of the Indiana Institute for the Blind have
issued invitations for their first reunion, to be held June 7, 8, and
9, at the Institute, which entertains its graduates during the three
days' session.

The Indianapolis Journal, of April 7, contains the following ac-
count of a gymnastic exhibition recently given by the pupils of this
school : —

" A class of the pupils of the blind institute gave a gymnastic
and calisthenic exhibition at their chapel last night that was
highly enjoyed by all present. The class has been carefully drilled
by Miss Harriet Turner, their teacher, and the results evidence the
skill and devotion of her work. Prior to this year no systematic
instruction of the kind had been given the pupils. The fact of
blindness prevents many of the natural exercises, so that the blind
are apt to have drooping figures, sunken chests, and sallow com-
plexions. Last night's performance shows the possibility of their
developing a strong muscular body. Many of the exercises were
truly marvelous. A class of young ladies gave a dumb-bell ex-
ercise with piano accompaniment, and the boys, similarly, an Ind-
ian-club drill. The other interesting features were parallel-bar
exercises, rope-climbing, turn-pole evolutions, and such miscella-
neous features as skinning the cat, vaulting, shinning the pole, —
all interspersed with musical selections by the boys and girls."

ITALY,

From the Amico dei Ciechi, a periodical published at Florence
in the interests of the blind, we learn that the Milan Institution is
already occupying its new building, which is one of the finest of its
kind in Europe.

The Third National Congress of friends and teachers of the
blind was appointed to meet at Naples, April 24. Although these
conventions are national in their character, a warm welcome was
extended to foreign typhlophiles.

1 96 THE MENTOR

NEW YORK.

New York State Institution for the Blind. — Since the
opening of the new year our superintendent has suffered a sad loss
in the death of his wife.

A few of our pupils have left, within the past few weeks, to
enter into business for themselves. We shall have this year four
graduates, three young women and one young man.

A musical to be given very soon by the pupils is in preparation.
Another is expected to be given some time in May.

Some very pretty articles are shown in the girls' work-room. It
is said the girls have the World's Fair in view as a place to exhibit
them.

A young debating club, organized this year, is succeeding very
nicely. We have many a young Demosthenes in the society.

NOVA SCOTIA.

Halifax School for the Blind. — The staff and pupils here
are in the best of humor, for a concert trip to the neighboring
Province of New Brunswick has just been concluded with marked
success. As a result, an act for the free education of the blind
has been passed in the New Brunswick legislature, similar to that
already in vogue in Nova Scotia. Five public meetings have been
held in various towns, and about seven thousand people have
thereby become interested in the education of the blind. The
heavy expenses of the trip (for the party numbered twenty-two) were
defrayed by contributions ; and the sum of $400 is laid by toward
lessening the remaining debt on our new building. An advance
agent, one of our own pupils, engaged board, cabs, halls, etc., and
now remains behind to gather in the substantial sentiment evoked
by our flying visit. By these means we hope to clear the building
debt of $3,000, our only outstanding indebtedness. The endow-
ment fund steadily increases. Last month $1,100 were added to
it, to the delight of all concerned.

By the way, our girls' work-class is meeting with marked success.
As each piece of work is completed, the worker at once receives
a sum equal to half the profit. Or, if a piece of work is a private
speculation, that is, made of material not supplied by the school, a
ten per cent, commission is charged for the sale. A good supply
of pocket-money is thus often earned, even in the school-days, —
one of our older girls having cleared $9 during the term, while our
youngest pupil proudly jingles the eight cents which show that she
has at last mastered the intricacies of making bead chairs.

AT HOME AND ABROAD

SCOTLAND.

197

Royal Blind Asylum and School, Edinburgh. — We learn
from the Ninety-eighth Annual Report that this establishment has
been relieved of an oppressive burden through the receipt of ^"12,-
708, a legacy from the estate of Mr. James Nasmyth, of Pen-
hurst, Kent, the inventor of the steam-hammer. This, with other
legacies, has enabled the directors to pay a large part of the debt ;
and they hope by another year to clear off the remainder. The
endowment or scholarship fund has reached the sum of ,£11,233
gs. 6d., the interest of which is expended yearly in paying for the
board and education of blind children and the support and cloth-
ing of aged females.

According to an act of Parliament, which went into force in
January, 1891, the maintenance and education of blind children,
which had formerly been intrusted to parochial boards, was trans-
ferred to the school boards, and the education department now
allows ,£15 per session for blind children sent by the school
boards. This does not cover the actual cost ; and the establish-
ment is dependent upon the donations of the charitable, whose
gifts, contributed in small sums through the hands of more than
150 collectors, have amounted during the year to above ^2, 000.

A class in joinery, modeling, etc., has recently been introduced,
to the great advantage of the younger children.

The directors have appointed a blind missionary chaplain, Mr.
W. Benzie, who, in addition to conducting daily worship in the
asylum, has made hundreds of visits among the blind in their
homes, entering into social and religious conversation with them,
and encouraging an interest in reading.

The industrial department has employed 171 blind men and
women, and carries on a variety of occupations rarely equalled in
establishments for the blind.

A portrait and sketch of " Little Dot," a four-year-old pupil, lets
in a sunbeam upon the gravity of the report. Dot is not a prodigy,
but a bright little child, who delights in her toys, romps in the
grounds, has learned her letters and is trying to knit, and is just
as happy in the darkness as other children in the light. Her
Scotch shrewdness appears when, " in the midst of a grave reproof
for some little misdemeanor, she quietly says, 'It's my tea-time
now,' or asks if you should not go home to dinner."

198

THE MENTOR

SOUTH CAROLINA.

The South Carolina Institution for the Deaf and Dumb
and the Blind has 106 pupils. Some repairs have been made
upon its buildings during the year, and an appropriation by the
State is asked for electric lighting. Of the 33 blind pupils the
slender report for 189 1 gives very little information. A piano, a
reed organ, and some brass instruments have been purchased for
this department ; and Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Meares, the former a
graduate of the North Carolina Institution for the Blind, have suc-
ceeded as teachers Mr. and Mrs. Stover, who resigned to accept
positions in the Perkins Institution, at Boston. The per capita
cost for the year has been $148.30.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

We have received from Mr. George Dupont-Hansen 6 Klaver-
stykker, Op. 1, published by Wilhelm Hansen, Kopenhagen and
Leipzig. The work shows evidence of musical ability and study.
Nos. 1 and 2 are in the romantic vein, the first being a good ex-
ample of pedal point and the second affording profitable technical
practice, being the most difficult of the set. No. 3, a minuet in A-
flat, is well constructed, the inversion and development of the
motives in the first and second parts being well managed. The
trio in the tonic minor (changed enharmonically to G-sharp) is
interesting. The coda, though well made, seems a little diffuse.
No. 4 is in canonic form for the most part, and has no great musi-
cal significance. No. 5 is lyrical in character, and, although of
little difficulty, is pleasing. No. 6 consists of a broad melody with
arpeggio accompaniment in both hands : it can be used profitably
for teaching purposes. Taken as a whole, the compositions are
very creditable ; and we shall be glad to receive Op. 2 when pub-
lished, and would suggest that the composer devote himself to
more extended forms.

The preparation of this work for publication has been carefully
attended to, — a thing which is too often neglected by blind com-
posers, who frequently have not mastered the details of the seeing
musical notation, and who may also be dependent upon incompe-
tent amanuenses.

Mr. Dupont-Hansen has been a student at the Royal Institution

EDITORIAL NOTES

1 99

for the Blind, in Copenhagen, where he was cordially commended
by Director Moldenhawer, as a musician of great ability. It was
only last year that he returned to his home in Chicago, 111.

# # #

Mr. J. H. Hill, 20 Colwell Road, East Dulwich, Eng., calls our
attention to his device for facilitating ordinary writing among the
blind. It is a brass tablet with embossed lines, a clip (like that of
the English Braille frames) holding the paper at the top, and an
elastic keeping it in place at the bottom. The simplicity of the
device is a strong recommendation. The price of the ordinary
size, for business and private correspondence, is 4^. 6d., or y. 6d.
without the clip. An envelope director is sold for is. Mr. Hill
says : —

" At first sight, the question might suggest itself, ' What is the
use of teaching the blind to write ? ' There has been much done to
teach the sightless how to read, but I fail to discover what has been
achieved to instruct them in writing, so that they may communicate
with their seeing brethren. Now, one of the first questions an
employer of labor asks when taking on a new hand is : ' Have you
a good character ? Can you read and write fairly well ? ' Now, if
it is necessary for a person with sight to be able to do these two
things, surely it is more needful still for the blind. If we have a
desire to improve the condition of the blind, we must teach them
how to do things so as to enable them to stand shoulder to
shoulder with their seeing brethren, with whom they have daily to
associate and earn bread."

Through the kindness of the Volta Bureau, we have received
a copy of the second (and greatly enlarged) edition of the souvenir,

" Helen Keller."

* # *

We are indebted to Cav. Dante Barbi-Adriani for a copy of 77
Mentore dei Ciechi, a Braille periodical published in Florence, and
for an appreciative review of the January number of The Mentor
which appeared in the Amico dei Ciechi for February, and espe-
cially for the promise of an article upon the blind, and the institu-
tions for their benefit in Italy.

# * *

We desire also to express our thanks to the unknown friend
who has sent us three numbers of a Russian periodical, of the con-
tents of which we hope to be able to give our readers at least a
few hints without unnecessary delay.

200 THE MENTOR

In response to inquiries concerning Braille music, we would say
that the Boston printing-office has been printing such music for
some time, and now has for piano an entire instruction book, sets
of studies from the easy to the difficult, and a large number of
suitable teaching pieces of different degrees of difficulty at prices
ranging from four to eight cents for single pieces. A good number
of hymn tunes and chorals have also been issued, as well as selec-
tions for band, a set of vocal exercises, and the complete set of
exercises in Richter's Harmony. Constant additions are being
made to this catalogue in all departments.

To meet the frequent demand for tuning-forks from different
parts of the country, we have recently imported a large supply of
forks made by T. Walker, which we will furnish to the blind at
cost, — 25 cents each, with 2 cents additional for postage on each
fork sent by mail. Address J. W. Smith, 37 Avon Street, Boston.

* # *

Miss Jeanie Malcolm, of West Saginaw, formerly a pupil of the
Michigan School for the Blind, has devised an attachment to the
People's Type-writer to adapt it to the use of the blind, for ordi-
nary type-writing, — not embossing. By means of this attachment
the writer is enabled to seek the desired characters with the
fingers of one hand while with the other he operates the printing
lever. The price of this attachment is $3.

~\K /ANTED — A home and a position to teach a blind child.
The applicant is a recent graduate of the Pennsylvania Insti-
tution for the Blind, and has had experience in teaching. She is
an exceptional young woman, exceptionally well qualified to teach
and be a companion.

For further particulars address Edward E. Allen, Principal of
the Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind, Philadelphia.

March 10, 1892.

SANTA LUCIA.

A high- class magazine in Braille type, price 2 s. monthly.
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MATTRESSES, FEATHER BEDS/ENTRY MATS, ETC.

Made by the Blind. Sold Wholesale and Retail.

Also Chairs Cane-seated, Sofas and Parlor Chairs Re-upholstered. Old Mat-
tresses and Feather Beds made over. Feathers and Curled Hair
Purified by Steam in the Best Manner.

BROOMS AND BRUSHES SOLD WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.

TUNING DEPARTMENT.

Pianos Carefully Tuned by Experienced Workmen.

A strong endorsement of the efficiency of these tuners appears in the testimonials
of some of the leading musicians of the ciVy, and in the fact that for
thirteen years this Institution has J^en intrusted with the
care of the pianos of the public schools of Boston.

Orders addressed to Tuning Department, Perkins Institute for the Blind,
South Boston, will receive prompt attention.

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stitute for the Blind, Boston, Mass.,
especially for the use of Blind Persons.
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